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I recently visited Izmir and toured parts of the Izmir province.
Today I publish some of the photos I took in the small seaside town of Iskele (Skala in Greek).
Iskele is located a short distance away from the city of Urla (Vourla in Greek), built near the site of the ancient Ionian city of Klazomenai (Clazomenae), the birthplace of philosopher Anaxagoras.
The city of Urla is located 40km west of Izmir, on the Rythrean peninsula.
The small port of Iskele in the 19th century and early 20th century was very busy when the famous raisin of the area was shipped abroad. According to some sources, in 1910 more than 1,600 tonnes were exported to Austria alone.
Many wealthy families from Izmir and Urla had their summer residence in Iskele. One of the them, was the family of Stelios Seferiadis, a lawyer, and father of the Greek Nobel Laureate Giorgos Seferis, who was born in Izmir and raised in Urla. The residence is a complex of buildings that has been turned into a hotel and restaurant.
According to the census of 1920, the city of Urla had 50,000 inhabitants; 35,000 Greeks, 5,000 Turks and 10,000 Armenians and Jews. Only 500 of them were living in Iskele.
As I was walking in the small town, a local resident asked me in Greek “where are you from?” And he knew the answer before I gave it to him.
